When this site was first started and negative things were written about people/businesses, some folks said they did not want to see anything negative about Glen Rose, Somervell County, or the people here because nothing bad ever happens. Then the Open Records requests started flowing from the Sheriff's office and crime logs started getting entered on the site with detailed descriptions of crime that IS happening in Glen Rose and Somervell County. So instead of saying crime doesn't happen here, now these folks said that tourism is the big industry and any negativity would take away from the tourism and hurt the community. Here we are 5 years later and tourism still thrives....

Fast forward to this week where the Glen Rose Reporter has an article coming out that has something negative in it. You have City Council members like Chris Bryant saying on Facebook

"To all the people that make a stand!!- YOU ARE PRICELESS!!!"

in response to a local business owner, who is NOT a registered voter in the City of Glen Rose, saying that she can't support the paper. Yes, I know its hard to believe but a City Council member wrote about supporting the attack of the paper instead of cleaning up the mess that caused the article to begin with (priorities?). Where is the anger of having someone, who should not be, running Oakdale Park that tourists will not feel comfy with? Don't these businesses realize that the problem is not that the paper printed it, but that the City ignores the problem and have known about it for quite some time. If the City had taken care of its problem then this article would never exist and the business owners would not have to worry about what the paper is printing. The business owners should be outraged at the City Council and the Mayor if anyone...not at the local paper for printing the story.

So I say to the City Council and local business owners, go ahead and pull your advertising from the Glen Rose Reporter and put it in the paper that no one reads!!
Doing so will NOT increase their circulation and it will NOT help your business (unless advertising to a smaller audience is what you are going for) but hey it is your money and if you want to make a statement with your business money, then go for it!!
Does the City really think they can control the media with advertising dollars?
Do you really think the Glen Rose Reporter won't sell out EVERY copy printed this week (if they are smart they are printing double the regular number)?
Do you think the problems the City of Glen Rose has are going to go away if you pull your advertising?

I'm not on Facebook so I only hear sometimes about what people decide to put (or delete) on their walls. But you remind me about when someone, in connection with what we wrote here about Joelle Ogletree, said that this was America's Dream Town and therefore Stop Talking about Ogletree. I looked up what Dream Town was and was pretty amused. Anybody can go try to win an internet contest by sitting at his/her computer and submitting votes over and over and over and what the heck does that prove? That someone has a sore finger at the end of the week.

Anyway, I don't think in terms of negativity, but of realism. This is a town that has a rich history of law breaking in the time of moonshiners, where one con man snake oil salesman was shot when he was messing with another man's wife, and all other manner of crime and oddities, JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER TOWN. Instead of fighting that by trying to sweep problems under the rug, I think citizens should embrace quickly and immediately fixing the problems, which are going to come up. That also includes informing the public about what's going on, and not having secretive private conversations where actions cannot be tracked.. unless it's about something done in the provacy of your own home. The situation with Mr Whitfield steppd outside that privacy when he decided to do what is normally a personal activity in full view of others.. repeatedly. Some may not like that, and Mr Bryant may want to side with those who think no one should publicly bring it up (oh, but people sure talk about what stuff as gossip mano y mano, don't they?) but I think he and the FB pals who wish the Whitfield situation was not public are in the wrong.

Hang in there Salon, although I no longer live in GR, I do appreciate what you do. I did grow up in GR and my family on moms side had roots that went back to the founding of the county. I wish I could say that it is surprise that you get such a negative responses, but sadly it is not. A few years ago there was another site that called attention to many of the same things that you do now. It got a very nasty response from citizens and eventually was discontinued. I guess small towns feel like they don't have to abide by the same rules as bigger cities??? It actually is somewhat fascinating sociologically and would be a great project for someone working on a degree in that field I would think.

Shooting the mesenger accomplishes nothing and changes nothing. We all want what is best for our community, at least most of us do. The mission is simple. Do your jobs, fix the problems and respond to your community.

If anyone thinks that the days of no reporting about what is going on are coming back, well, looks like you're out of luck.

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